But for the efforts and intervention of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission (NIDCOM), most Nigerians would most probably be unaware of the gruesome experience of some of the country’s students studying in Northern Cyprus. The Chairman/ Chief Executive Officer of NIDCOM, Mrs. Abike Dabiri-Erewa, last week made the alarming disclosure that no less than 100 Nigerian students studying in various institutions in Northern Cyprus had been reported killed in several inexplicable and mysterious circumstances.
Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa spoke when she received in audience Justice Amina Bello, mother of a Nigerian student, Ibrahim Khaleel, who had met his death in still unraveled circumstances in Northern Cyprus. Listing the names of 15 other students who had reportedly committed suicide in that country without any credible supporting evidence in most cases, the NIDCOM chairman said, “The death of Ibrahim Khaleel should be the tipping point to a stop in the killing of our children anywhere in the world, particularly Northern Cyprus”.
Pointing out that most of the institutions attended by Nigerians in Northern Cyprus are inferior to those back home and lacked credible accreditation, Mrs Dabiri-Erewa stressed that “No Nigerian parent should send their children to any university in Northern Cyprus; there is a collaboration which we do not understand that makes them kill blacks, particularly Nigerian students”. Corroborating Mrs. Dahiru-Erewa’s allegation, Justice Bello said her son was said to have committed suicide by jumping from the 7th floor of a building but there was no visible injury to his body or head.
Beyond lamentations, however, NIDCOM, according to Mrs. Dabiri-Erewa, had referred the case to the INTERPOL through the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation, while also taking up the issue with the Ambassador of Turkey, which is the only country that recognises and has relations with Northern Cyprus. The ambassador, who is reportedly new in his position promised to investigate the matter. She further said that NIDCOM would engage the National Universities Commission (NUC) to pursue the possibility of blacklisting educational certificates received from Northern Cyprus.
We commend the commission for beaming the searchlight on this and similar issues affecting Nigerians abroad. Indeed, in just one year of its existence, NIDCOM has recorded a lot of achievements. But the commission had a muted and low-key celebration when on July 25 it clocked one. This was apparently because of the coronavirus pandemic and the fact that that the commission still has a number of serious challenges to overcome in its stipulated mission to “engage and utilise the human, capital and material resources of this demography in the socio-economic, cultural and political development of Nigeria”.
Even then, it is only right and proper to mention some of these other achievements. For instance, reacting to the xenophobic attacks against black Africans in South Africa last year, NIDCOM coordinated the evacuation back to Nigeria, as well as resettlement in different states in two batches, of over 700 Nigerians who had been stranded in South Africa. Again, in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, NIDCOM, working in collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Nigerian missions around the world, effected the evacuation back to Nigeria of over 6,500 Nigerian citizens from different countries.
In order to ensure proper coordination between the commission and state governments in relating with Nigerians in Diaspora, NIDCOM established State Diaspora Focal Point Officers to dialogue and strategise on harmonious coordination of Diaspora engagements at the grassroots. And, in recognition of the speedily accelerating role of Diaspora remittances in Nigeria’s economic growth and development, the Ad hoc National Committee of the Nigerians in Diaspora Investment Fund was inaugurated in Abuja on Tuesday. The committee has a one-month time-frame to complete work on its terms of reference, which are to determine the mission and objectives of the fund, as well as stipulate the procedures for its utilization and management.
A commission like NIDCOM saddled with huge responsibilities should not be a squatter; it deserves a permanent official apartment of its to enable it focus on its core mandate for optimal results. We therefore urge the Federal Government to make an official space available to it as soon as possible.
Going forward, NIDCOM should, as a matter of urgency, undertake a comprehensive census of all Nigerians in Diaspora, and their location, to enhance a more effective relations with them and ultimately help actualise their participating in the country’s electoral process.
source: https://thenationonlineng.net/giant-strides/